As a budding experimental physicist, a question I am often posed is, “Why would one spend so much money studying subatomic realms when one could spend the money ...” The suggestions for where the money could or should be directed are endless; starving populations, war-stricken nations, charity, or even Wall Street.

In May of 2015, Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) and House representatives Mike Doyle (D-PA), Kevin Yoder (R-KS) and Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) proposed the bipartisan Fair Access to Science and Technology Research Act in Congress.